A Baby Boomer looks at health, finance, retirement, grown-up children and ... how time flies.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Halloween Monster

Over the weekend B and I took a trip over to Costco to stock up on paper towels, toilet paper, coffee, cereal, a few pounds of chicken and . . . Halloween candy.

Halloween candy? Do you think I'm jumping the gun?

Of all the holidays on the calendar, it's Halloween that I prepare for the farthest in advance. Not in terms of a costume or decorations. But you know, you can't take the chance that they'll run out of candy. And with all the risks associated with razors in the apples and LSD in the junior mints, you can't be too careful. So I take it upon myself to taste-test each batch of candy. Really . . . I do it for the kids!

Ready for Halloween

My favorite is Kit Kat. I also like M&Ms -- the ones with peanuts -- and Hershey bars with almonds.

But remember, I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing it for the kids.

So what's your favorite candy? Do you have one? I know a lot of people lose their sweet tooth as they get older. Their tastes become more sophisticated, and they take just a small half-teaspoon of sugar in their tea, and don't put any sugar on the cereal at all.

Not me. My sweet tooth still works just fine.

I know, I know, too much sugar is bad for you. Nobody should consume too many carbohydrates. I am fully cognizant of this. That's why, a couple of years ago, I gave up drinking soft drinks and went over to bottled water. (I strained my neck because I was patting myself on the back for being so good.)

Then B got on my case because all those plastic bottles harm the environment. So now I reuse my plastic water bottles two or three times -- filling them up out of the tap -- before cracking open the next one.

But I'm getting off topic. Halloween candy. All of our kids are grown up now and out of the house. But I still like greeting the little ones at the door and watching them dig into our bucket and come up with a couple of candy bars . . . and seeing the big smiles on their dirty faces.

And I know . . . I remember, from my own childhood, the point is to collect as much candy as you can. You don't eat the half of it. The real fun is dumping out huge piles of candy on the floor after you get home, and sorting through looking for the good stuff, and maybe trading with your brothers and sisters. In the end, half of it goes stale and ends up in the garbage. Oh, I know it's a waste . . . bah humbug.

Parents may roll their eyes, but I remember as a parent with young kids, I loved seeing the joy in their faces -- all this candy, it doesn't get better than this! Doesn't every kid deserve a moment like that?

But still, as parents we do have to take some responsibility into our own hands. For example, a lot of kids have an allergic reaction to nuts. Can't let that happen. I'd better get those peanut M&Ms out of the bowl -- oh, and the Hershey bars, too!

13 comments:

In the 30 years we have lived here, kids came only the first year. I don't think many kids do 'T or T' these days. Plus I live in an adult neighborhood as in all the kids have moved away. So, no candy at our house except what David buys and eats on the spot.

I hate to leave a comment here. The "prove you're not a robot" check is hard to see.

First of all. i really admire your preparedness. Were you perhaps a boy scout as a lad? Also, true, one can never be too careful of the health and safety of our nation's youth. Good job.I also stock up on the halloween candy early and often. The Resse's peanut butter cups are my personal favorite. Oh, I mean the favorite of the neighborhood tick or treaters. I think, anyway. We never have had a trick or treater at our house. Country road--compact neighborhoods are much better targets.

Nobody comes here on Halloween. We're too far off the beaten track. I'm glad . . . there might be some mature people who would not be sucked in by a gigantic bowl of assorted candy, but I would not be one of them.My favorite candy? Milk chocolate (I was so disappointed when I heard chocolate was good for me, and then to find out it was the kind that's good, really, only for baking), peanut butter cups, toffee . . . like Skor bars and Heath bars. Okay, that's enough. If I don't stop now I'll be out at CVS cleaning out the candy aisle. CVS because I have a card that gives me points for my purchases. Thrift!!!

For years no one came on Halloween - until we relocated to a new town and quiet street where one night a year kids seem to appear out of nowhere, take our candy and then disappear for another year. But we do not buy early. The Hershey bars and M&Ms would be long gone before any kids rang our bell.

Dianne, I "feel your pain." I've had the same problem when commenting on some other blogs.

I disabled the no-robot function a few weeks ago, but then I was inundated with spam comments, many in foreign languages -- they didn't show up on the blog, but they crowded my email. It was a real pain; plus, I worried that some rogue spam would get through and mess up my computer.

So I reinstated it, and until they come up with something better, I think I have to stick with this admittedly annoying procedure. All I can say is, sorry you have to put up with it, and many thanks for persevering and posting your comments.

I know how tiring it must be to try all those different pieces! But, someone has to do it!I leave the job to my husband, the purchasing, the dishing out, the tasting. You see, I'm debilitated, have lost my taste for sugar, and now I can only envy those who still connect with their childhood this way!

Go away to avoid those kiddies? Not us. We dress up in full scary costumes and greet all comers.

If you need some help consuming excess candy, give me a shout.

I also had to restore the robot check on my blog. Didn't want to, but the invasive commentators were just too much. I wish the sponsors would adjust this feature to make it more reasonable for legitimate visitors.

About Me

I’m a Baby Boomer, part of the pig-in-a-python demographic group that has brought so many changes to America – and will continue to do so until we cash our last Social Security check. I had a typical baby boomer career. I attended college, went to business school, worked for several companies, then in my mid-50s was laid off. Meanwhile, I got divorced, and my two kids left for college. Now I live with my significant other, B, who has two children of her own. We live in the New York area, a convenient stopover for our four peripatetic 20-somethings. And I produce this blog Sightings Over Sixty which covers health, finance, retirement – concerns of people who realize that somehow they have grown up.